1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the novel optically active benzene derivatives such as alkyl- or alkoxyalkyloxyethyl phenols, or -carbonyl-oxyethyl phenols, -oxyethyl-4'-hydroxy biphenyls or -carbonyl-oxyethyl-4'-hydroxy biphenyls, and a process for producing such optically active benzene derivatives.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Racemic compounds represented by the general formula ##STR3## (wherein Y denotes a methoxy or ethoxy group) are disclosed in M. Ojika, J. Nat. Prod., 48 634 (1985) and J. A. Jones, Polym. Prepr., 24 76 (1983). However, the above compounds are racemic compounds and no practical use thereof is disclosed at all.
Further, the above compounds are not available as an intermediate for ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds because of being racemic compounds, whereas the compounds of the present invention can be readily derived to such ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds.
For example, as shown below, all the past prior art relied on method of introducing an optically active alkyl group into phenols, whereas the present invention relies on method wherein optically active alcohols, in which an asymmetric carbon atom is directly bonded to the benzene ring and therefore, are naturally optically active, are obtained by the asymmetric hydrolysis, and then alkylated or acylated which is followed by debenzylation to obtain optically active phenols. Thus, the present method is different from the prior art methods. ##STR4## wherein l is 1 or 2 and * mark indicate asymmetric carbon atom.